Voters get ready in Obama's hometown

WASHINGTON: Democrats are increasingly confident of retaining control of the Senate - a target that looked all but beyond them earlier this year - with polls suggesting the Republicans will be punished for their conservative views on rape and abortion.

The Republicans had been expecting to overturn the Democrats' 53-47 majority, adding the Senate to the Republican-controlled House and providing them with a powerful base to challenge Barack Obama or support a Mitt Romney presidency.

In Indiana, held by the Republicans since 1976, the latest poll shows Republican Richard Mourdock 11 points behind Democrat Joe Donnelly. Mourdock is suffering from his comment that pregnancy from rape was ''something God intended''.

Senior Republican and former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour ... admitted the Republicans were unlikely to take Senate. Photo: AP

A senior Republican, the former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, admitted on Sunday that the Grand Old Party was unlikely to take the Senate. Interviewed on CNN, he predicted it would be close. Pushed on what he meant by this, he went further: ''Means no cigar.''

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Polls suggest Congress will emerge from the elections almost unchanged. The prospect of status quo means Washington faces at least another two years of deadlock, with the Democratic Senate and Republican house cancelling each other out and the chances of significant new legislation poor.

Thirty-three of the Senate's 100 seats are up for grabs, with at least 10 regarded as toss-ups. All 435 House seats are also being contested. The Republicans hold 241 seats in the House to the Democrats' 194. The Republican majority could be reduced but the chance of the Democrats retaking control remains remote.

The races have produced a colourful array of candidates and offer the prospect of a number of firsts, from the first - at least to be open about it - lesbian senator, Tammy Baldwin, in Wisconsin, to the first Republican black congresswoman, Mia Love. There are historical footnotes, too, such as the almost certain return of a Kennedy to Congress: Joseph P. Kennedy, the grandson of Robert Kennedy.

The Republican Party has been in self-destruct mode and faces the prospect of failing in states that should have been easy gains, as it did in the 2010 mid-term elections when it fielded a disastrous set of Tea Party candidates.

The Republicans have made it difficult for themselves in what was the Democrats' most vulnerable seat, Missouri. The Republican Todd Akin's suggestion some rapes were ''legitimate'' turned a near-certain gain into a toss-up.

The Republicans are almost certain to also lose Maine.

There is a small chance that the Senate could be tied on 50-50. The casting vote would then rest with whoever is vice-president.

7 Nov
SANFORD, Florida: Mitt Romney made a final plea to the American people Monday night to help him ''change the course the nation is on'', as his allies began blaming hurricane Sandy for stopping him from overtaking Barack Obama in final opinion polls.